Located next to the pharmacy, the clinic provides customers with treatment for a variety of common illnesses, including sore throats, fevers, flu and colds, ear and sinus infections, pink eye, skin rashes and allergies. The site is the first Stop & Shop to offer clinical services, and the model could be expanded to other stores, said spokeswoman Arlene Putterman.

"It's a pilot, and based on results we'll make a determination about expansion," she said.

Stop & Shop is a unit of Ahold USA, the parent of Giant Food, which has a clinic at its supermarket in Carlisle, Pa.

"For many years, our pharmacists have been strong health resources in our stores by providing information and offering flu clinics. This new partnership with Norwalk Hospital FastCare will expand the health and wellness resources we are able to offer to our customers and provide them with an alternative choice for those needing medical treatment," Putterman said. "This concept increases accessibility to health care at a low, set cost and adds value for our customers."

The partnership will enable Norwalk Hospital to better serve area residents, said Dr. Michael Marks, Norwalk Hospital vice president of business development, in a statement.

"Cost, quality and accessibility are extremely important to us at Norwalk Hospital," said Marks, who will participate in a ribbon cutting Tuesday at the store at 1160 Kings Highway Cutoff, along with Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau.

Stop & Shop was an early provider of bank branches in grocery stores, and introducing a clinic is another step in serving customers, according to Michael Berger, senior editor of the Griffin Report of Food Marketing.

"I think Stop & Shop is the first major grocer to do this. It's a new frontier. It will be wait and see," he said, regarding the prospects for expansion and whether other chains embrace it.

FastCare accepts most insurance and office visit co-pays apply. For those with high deductibles or no insurance, a FastCare visit is $82, including simple lab tests.

The clinic is staffed by Norwalk Hospital nurse practitioners and physician assistants. A report following each visit is sent to a patient's primary-care physician, and immediate referrals will be made to a physician when symptoms exceed the clinic's scope of services.

FastCare takes walk-in patients only, and silent pagers are available for use in the store to alert a patient when to return. Faster pharmacy service will be provided based on immediate transmittal of prescriptions to the Stop & Shop pharmacy or a pharmacy of the patient's choice.

Bobbi Duffy-Hidalgo, one of four nurse practitioners who rotate time at the clinic, said she expects to see more patients as shoppers learn about the facility.

"I saw four patients last Saturday (May 10)," said Duff-Hidalgo, who spent Wednesday at the clinic with medical assistant Vicki Brandenhoff. "We're not a primary care provider. I can care for acute conditions, but not chronic ones -- not in this setting. It's designed as quick in-and-out setting. I sent somebody to the emergency room for something not appropriate to be treated here."

The clinic will eventually offer tuberculosis skin testing and flu shots, she said.

The premise makes sense because people want to make the best use of their time, Brandenhoff said.

"People are excited we're here. It's one-stop shopping," she said.

But shoppers like Ruth Sheahan, of Fairfield, said it might take some time before patrons get used to the idea of a clinic in the store.

"I've noticed it, but I haven't given it much thought. They (the clinic) have to establish themselves. It could be the coming thing. I'm open to it," said Sheahan, as she pushed a shopping cart to her car.

Another shopper, Ed Sobotich of Weston, said he recalls seeing a clinic in a store in Minnesota.

"I think a clinic in a store is an good thing, if it's convenient," he said.